Unloader



B. A. ROSE June 18, 1957 UNLOADER 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 9, 1955 eS 0 RR w. NA N .w n n e B June 18, 1957 055 2,796,180

UNLOADER Filed Feb. 9, 1955 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2.

INVENTOR Bennie A Rose B. A. ROSE June 18, 1957 UNLOADER 7 Sheets-Sheet5 Filed Feb, 9, 1955 INVENTOP.

Bennie A. 'Rose B. A, ROSE June 18, 1957 UNLOADER 7" Sheets-Sheet 5Filed Feb. 9, 1955 i mm INVENTOR Bennie A. Rose June 18, 1957 Filed Feb.9, 1955 Fig.8.

B. A. ROSE UNLOADER 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 IN VENTOR Bennie A. Rose 1 JQMAQWJune 18, 1957 B. A. ROSE 2,796,180

7 uNLoAbER Filed Feb. 9, 1955 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Fig.9.

INVENTOR Bennie A. Rose United States PatentO UNLOADER Bennie A. Rose,Mount Lebanon, Pa., assignor to Heyl 8;

Patterson, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of PennsylvaniaApplication February 9, 1955, Serial No. 487,084

\ 4 Claims. (Cl. 214-14) This invention relates to an unloader,particularly an unloader for removing bulk material from receptaclessuch as the holds of vessels, railway cars, trucks, etc. My unloader hasespecial utility in unloading bulk cargo from the holds of vessels andfor purposes of explanation and illustration will be described as soembodied.

A cargo vessel tends to rise in the water as it is unloaded. The extentof rise depends on the capacity of the vessel and whether holds whichhave been emptied are filled with water ballast during the emptying ofthe remaining holds. A vessel may rise in the water as much as thirtyfeet or more during unloading. Also due to tides the level of the waterin the ocean and in streams and lakes affected by the tides rises andfalls. The level of the surface of the water between high tide and lowtide may change as much as twenty feet or more. Further, as a hold of avessel is unloaded the level of the material in the hold becomesprogressively lower relatively to the bottom of the hold. The hold of avessel may be thirty or more feet deep. Consequently during an unloadingoperation there may be a wide variation between the level of thematerial being unloaded and the level to which the unloaded material isbeing delivered.

In unloading bulk material from a cargo vessel the material is deliveredby material handling mechanism to a delivery zone and provision must bemade for such delivery of the material despite variation between thelevel of the material being unloaded and the level to which the unloadedmaterial is being delivered. Also provision must be made for removingmaterial throughout as much of the area of each hold as the size of thehatch permits. Consequently the unloader must in some cases at least bedesigned to remove bulk material from a vessel throughout a verysubstantial vertical height range as well as a substantial horizontalrange both parallel and perpendicular to the shore or the edge of theunloading dock.

I provide an unloader having great flexibility in operation and whichrapidly and efiiciently unloads cargo from the holds of vessels underall conditions of change of elevation of the material being unloadedrelatively to the unloading dock.

My unloader preferably comprises a generally horizontally shiftablecarriage with means thereon for receiving unloaded material togetherwith a generally vertically oriented stem, connections between the stemand the carriage through which the stem is carried by the carriage,means for shifting said connections to move the stern between an outwardand downward position and an inward and upward position generally abovethe receiving means, material handling means carried by the stem at thelower portion thereof and means for operating the material handlingmeans. By outward I mean generally in a direction away from theunloading dock toward the vessel being unloaded and by inward I mean theconverse. The generally horizontally'shiftelO Patented June 18, 1957able carriage may through its shifting be projected to a position inwhich a portion of it is generally above but slightly laterally offsetfrom a hold of a vessel to be unloaded.

The means on the carriage for receiving unloaded material may be ahopper or hoppers, and the hopper or hoppers may discharge onto aconveyor or conveyors which may deliver the unloaded material at adelivery zone where it may be delivered or loaded either directly intoreceptacles such as railroad cars or trucks or onto another conveyormounted on the unloading dock. The material handling means carried bythe stem at the lower portion thereof may be a bucket. By manipulationof the stem-carried bucket I may unload material from a vessel anddeliver the unloaded material onto the same carriage upon which thestem-carried bucket is mounted. The means on the carriage for receivingthe unloaded material such as the hopper or hoppers above mentioned maybe positioned close to the hatch and the stem-carried bucket may beoperated to take material from the hold and deposit it in the hopper orhoppers in asingle eflicient smooth motion which can be accomplished ina minimum of time. Thus the unloading operation may be accomplished withunprecedented rapidity and efficiency.

The stem may be mounted for generally vertical movement on a generallyvertically oriented guide, in which case connections are providedbetween the guide and the carriage through which the guide is carried bythe carriage and means are provided for shifting the connections to movethe guide between an outward and downward position and an inward andupward position generally above the receiving means. Mounting of thestern for generally vertical movement on the guide increases thevertical field of operation of the unloader.

A support may be provided on the generally horizontally shiftablecarriage together with means for moving the support to differentelevations, and the means for receiving unloaded material may be carriedby the support and also the stem-carried material handling means may becarried by the support. The support may be a boom pivoted at its endremote from the vessel being unloaded so that the boom may swing in agenerally vertical plane to change the elevation of the end thereofwhich is relatively near the vessel.

Features of my unloader have utility whether carried by a generallyhorizontally shiftable carriage or not. My unloader may comprise asupport, which may be other than a generally horizontally shiftablecarriage, together with a generally vertically oriented stem, connections between the stem and the support through which the stem iscarried by the support, means for shifting the connections to move thestem between an outward and downward position and an inward and upwardposition, material handling means carried by the stem at the lowerportion thereof and means for operating the material handling means. Thesupport may, for example, be a support movable to different elevationseither through rectilinear movement or through pivotal movement. Forexample, it may be a pivoted boom mounted as above referred to but notnecessarily on a generally horizontally shiftable carriage.

My unloader preferably comprises pivoted element means between the stemand the support through which the stem is carried by the supporttogether with means for pivotally moving the pivoted element means tomove the stem between an outward and downward position and an inward andupward position, material handling means carried by the stem at thelower portion thereof and means for operating the material handlingmeans. The stem may be pivoted to a member which in turn is pivoted tothe support and means may be provided for controllably changing theangularity between the stem andthe member. Means may also be providedfor moving the member about its pivot whereby the stem may be movedbetween an outward and downward position and an inward and upwardposition. Instead of the stem being pivoted to said member a generallyvertically oriented guide may be pivoted thereto and the stem may bemounted on the guide for generally vertical movement relatively to theguide. In either case material handling means are carried by the stem atthe lower portion thereof and means areprovided for operating thematerial handling means.

In another aspect my unloader may comprise a support, a generallyvertically oriented guide, connections between the guide and the supportthrough which the guide is carried by the support, means for shiftingsaid connections to move the guide between an outward and downwardposition and an inward and upward position, a stem mounted on the guidefor generally vertical movement relatively to the guide, means for somoving the stem relatively to the guide, material handling means carriedby'the stem at the lower portion thereof and means for operating thematerial handling means.

I prefer to provide connections including pivoted element means betweenthe guide and the support through which the guide is carried by thesupport together with means for pivotally moving the pivoted elementmeans to move the guide between an outward and downward position and an'inward and upward position. More specifically I may provide an elementpivotally connected with the support about a generally horizontal axis,the guide being pivoted at its upper portion to said element about agenerally horizontal axis, a second element pivotally connected to thelower portion of the guide and to the support and means for swinging theelements about their pivotal connections with the support to move theguide between an outward and downward position and an inward and upwardposition, the elements during such movement of the guide determining theorientation of the guide and causing the lower end of the guide'to betilted somewhat inwardly when the guide is in the inward and upwardposition. The end of the second element connected with the guide mayduring movement of the guide towardthe inward and upward position bemoved across the line-joining the end of the second element connectedwith the support and the pivotal connection between the first mentionedelement and the guide to cause the lower end of the guide to moveinwardly to an optimum extent.

I desirably provide my unloader with means including an adjustablemember carried by the support and projecting generally upwardlytherefrom providing an adjustablypositionable pivot together with agenerally horizontally oriented element pivoted thereto, a generallyvertically oriented guide, a generally horizontal pivotal connectionbetween said element and the guide so that as said element is turnedabout its pivotal connection with the support the guide is moved betweenan outward and downward position and an inward and upward position andmeans maintaining the orientation of the uide generally vertical duringsuch movement. In such an unloader the orientation of the guide is notmaintained exactly vertical as it is somewhat tilted when the materialhandling means at the lower portion of the stem is brought to dischargeposition but the amount of tilting is not sulficient to result inspilling a substantial amount of material from the material handlingmeans. The material handling means is desirably an openable and closablebucket.

I may employ in my unloader connections including an element pivotedintermediate its ends to the support and pivoted at one end to thegenerally vertically oriented guide through which the guide is carriedby the support together with counterweight means acting on the other endof said-element to counteract the weight of the guide and means mountedthereon and means for moving the connections to move the guide betweenan outward and downward position and an inward and upward position.

I find it desirable to utilize connections including an element ofangular shape pivoted to the support at one end of the element andpivoted to the guide at the other end of the element through which theguide is carried by the support together with motive means connectedwith said element intermediate the ends thereof to turn the same aboutits pivotal connection with the support to move the guide between anoutward and downward position and an inward and upward position, theguide during such movement being maintained substantially verticallyoriented. The support may carry a material receptacle, for example, as ahopper, delivering onto an endless belt or other conveyor and theelement of angular shape may be pivoted to the support at the side ofthe receptacle at one end of the element and pivoted to the guide at theother end of the element, and a second element may be provided which ispivoted to the support and to the guide, motive means being connectedwith the first mentioned element intermediate the ends thereof to turnthe same about its pivotal connection with the support to move the guidebetween an outward and downward position and an inward and upwardposition generally above the receptacle, the second element cooperatingwith the first mentioned element during such movement to maintain theguide substantially vertically oriented.

In a preferred construction I employ two elements each pivoted to thesupport and to the guide through which the guide is carried by thesupport, motive means carried by the support, a connection between themotive means and one of said elements for moving the same, together withthe other element and the guide, between a position in which the guideis disposed outwardly and downwardly and a position in which the guideisdisposed inwardly and upwardly while maintaining the guide generallyvertically oriented. The motive means may include a crank connected withone of said elements so that when the crank is in one position the guideis disposed outwardly and downwardly and when the crank is moved to agenerally opposite position the guide is moved inwardly and upwardly,said elements maintaining the guide substantially vertically orientedduring such movement.

Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent as the following description of certain present preferredembodiments thereof proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown certain present preferredembodiments of the invention in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary side elevational view of an unloader mountedon an unloading dock for removing bulk material from the holds ofvessels, the unloader being shown in position with its'bucket disposedat the bottom of a hold of a vessel to remove material there- I from;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view similar to Figure 1 butshowing the bucket in position to discharge material removed from thehold of the vessel to means for conveying the material to a deliveryzone;

Figure 3 is an end elevational 'view of the unloader in the positionshown in Figure l as viewed from the left in Figure 1, the vessel beingomitted in Figure 3;

Figure 4 is -a fragmentary vertical transverse cross sectional view toenlarged scale taken on the line IVIV of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary vertical transverse cross sectional view toenlarge scale taken on the line V-V of Figure .1;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary vertical. transverse cross sec tional view toenlarged scale taken on the line Vi-Vi of Figure l;

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing the recving of the unloader;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary diagrammatic side elevational view of anunloader of modified structure; and

Figure 9 is a fragmentary diagrammatic side elevational view of anunloader of further modified structure. Referring now more particularlyto the drawings, there is shown at 2 an unloading dock alongside water12 in which floats a cargo vessel 3. The water may be the ocean or ariver, lake, canal or other body of water. The water may be influencedby the tides or not, but my invention has especial utility in theunloading of vessels whose elevation relatively to the unloading dockchanges substantially due to change in the tide or rising of the vesseldue to decreased displacement as it is being unloaded or for bothreasons. The vessel 3 is shown in Figure 1 in solid lines at arelatively high elevation and in chain lines at a relatively lowelevation in relation to the unloading dock 2. My unloader, as willappear from the following description, is adapted for efficientlyunloading the vessel at all elevations in relation to the dock.

Mounted upon the dock 2 and extending generally parallel to the edge ofthe dock against Which the vessel lies are parallel sets of rails 4 uponwhich a gantry 5 is mounted through wheels 6. Only one of the parallelsets of rails is shown because of the fragmentary nature of the drawingsbut it will be understood that there is another set to the right of thestructure shown in Figures 1 and 2. The gantry is movable parallel tothe length of the vessel on the rails 4 so that all of the holds of thevessel from bow to stern may be unloaded. The gantry 5 carries rails 7disposed substantially at right angles to the rails 4, i. e. crosswiseof'the vessel, providing for unloading of each hold throughout theentire width of its hatch or hatches. Mounted on the rails 7 throughwheels 8 is a carriage 9. The carriage is movable to selected positionscrosswise of the vessel so that by correlated movements of the gantryand carriage all portions of all holds in the vessel can be reached.

The carriage is provided with a delivery chute adapted to receivematerial which has been unloaded from the vessel as will presently bedescribed. and to deliver that material generally downwardly. Thatmaterial is received by an endless belt conveyor 11 carried by thegantry and extending parallel to the rails 7 so that in all positions ofthe carriage 9 the chute 10 delivers unloaded material onto the conveyor11. The conveyor 11 is driven so that the upper or active reach thereofmoves toward the right viewing Figure 1. It discharges the unloadedmaterial received from the chute 10 through another chute (not shown)which delivers the material at a delivery zone either directly intoreceptacles such as railroad cars or trucks or onto another conveyormounted on the dock and extending parallel to the rails 4.

The carriage 9 includes structural framework 13 and a tower 14. Sincethe tower 14 is to resist stresses acting on its upper portion towardthe left as will presently appear the tower is guyed from the right tothe structural framework of the carriage by links 15.

A boom 16 is mounted on the carriage, being pivoted to the carriage at17 for turning movement relatively to the carriage about a horizontalaxis parallel to the rails 4. The boom is elongated in the directioncrosswise of the vessel and is adapted to be swung in a vertical planeabout the axis 17 to raise and lower its lefthand end which carries theprimary unloading mechanism as will presently be described. The positionof the boom is determined by reeving 18 extending between the top of thetower 14 and links 19 connected with the boom at 20. The reeving 18includes sheaves 21 at the upper ends of the links 19, sheaves 22 at thetop of the tower 14 and lines 23 extending about the sheaves 21 and 22and to a drum 24 (Figure 7) mounted in the carriage. When the left-handend of the boom 16 viewing Figure l is to be lowered the drum 24 isturned in the clockwise direction viewing Figure 7 to pay oil the lines23 and the left-hand end of the boom moves downwardly due to gravity.When the left-handend of the from a hold of a vessel.

.6 boom is to be raised the drum is turned in the counterclockwisedirection to wind up the lines 23 and hence shorten the distance betweenthe sheaves 21 and the sheaves 22 and elevate the end of the boom.

Pivoted to the boom at 25 are opposed identical parallel links 26. Thelinks 26 are pivoted at 31 to a guide arm 32 which is carried by thepivot for swinging movement about the axis thereof. Pivoted to the boomat 27 are opposed identical parallel adjustable links or columns 28. Theadjustable links or columns 28 are united at their upper portions by astructure 28a which has parallel internally threaded bores 29 (Figure5). Also pivoted to the links 26 and the guide arm 32 at 31 are twoidentical generally downwardly extending screw jacks 30 which screw intothe internally threaded bores 29. By turning the screws 30 in the bores29 the adjustable links or columns 28 may be adjusted in length. Areversing electric motor 30a is mounted on the structure 28a and througha speed reducer 30b and connections 300 the motor is adapted to turn thescrews 30 in either direction to adjust the length of the links 28.

The length of the adjustable links 28 determines the location of thepivot 31 as the links 26 are of fixed length. As the adjustable links 28are lengthened the pivot 31 moves upwardly relatively to the boom andalso somewhat to the right viewing Figure 1. For each po sion of theboom 16 there is an optimum position of the pivot 31. As the left-handend of the boom 16, viewing Figure 1, is lowered the pivot 31 should beraised. The optimum position of the pivot 31 for each position of theboom 16 is that position which results in the stem presently to bedescribed being oriented substantially vertically when the stem ispositioned to remove material Thus the lower the position of theleft-hand end of the boom the longer should be the adjustable columns 28whereby to maintain the stem substantially vertical when it ispositioned to remove material from a hold of a vessel.

As will presently appear, only the portion of the guide arm 32 to theleft of the pivot 31 viewing Figure l functions in operation of theunloader, but since a heavy load is carried by the left-hand end of theguide arm that arm is extended to the right from the pivot 31 andprovided with sheaves 33. Cooperating sheaves 34 are carried by the boomand lines 35 extend about the sheaves 33 and 34 and thence about sheaves36, 37 and 38 to counterweights 39. The counterweights 39 exert downwardforce on the right-hand end of the guide arm 32 to counteract at least asubstantial part of the downward force exerted on the left-hand end ofthe guide arm.

The boom carries two parallel endless conveyors 40 for conveyingmaterial to the chute 10. The conveyors 40 are trained about sheaves 41and 42, the latter being driven, and a slack take-up 42a is provided foreach conveyor. The conveyors 40 discharge into the chute 10 in anyposition of the boom. Material is delivered to the conveyors 40 by twoparallel feeder conveyors 43. Each of the feeder conveyors 43 deliversthe material through one of a pair of parallel chutes 44 onto thecorresponding conveyor 40. Two side-by-side hoppers 45 receive materialunloaded from the vessel by the means now to be described and directthat material to the feeder conveyors 43 whence it passes through thechutes 44 onto the conveyors 40, through the chute 10 onto the conveyor11 and to the delivery zone.

At opposite sides of the hoppers 45 are drive arms 47 of generally Lshape as shown in Figure 1. Each of the drive arms 47 has a relativelyshort leg and a relatively long leg. The two drive arms 47 areidentical, each being pivoted to the boom at 46 at the end of its shortleg. The ends of the long legs of the drive arms 47 are pivoted at 48 toa guide 49. Also, the left-hand end of the guide arm 32 is pivoted tothe guide 49 at 50. Thus the guide arm 32 and the drive arms 47 carryand control the movement of the guide 49.

The boom 16 carries a motive unit 51, which may, for example, be anelectric motor with a speed reducer, driving a shaft 52 to which arefixed two driving herringbone pinions 53. The pinions 53 respectivelymesh with driven herringbone gears 54 fixed to a shaft 55. Also fixed tothe shaftSS are opposed cranks 56 each of which is connected through alink 57 with the corresponding drive arm 47. Each link 57 is pivoted tothe corresponding crank 56 at 58 and to the corresponding drive arm 47at 59.

The cranks 56 determine the positions of the drive arms 47 and also ofthe guide arm 32 and the guide 49. The cranks 56 are shown in Figure 1fully extended toward and in alignment with the links 57 so that thepivot 59 is at the maximum distance from the shaft 55. With the cranks56 so positioned the guide 49 is in its extreme left-hand positionviewing Figure l and is oriented with its axis substantially vertical.When the cranks 56 are turned through 180 the drive arms 47 are moved tothe position shown in Figure 2 and the guide 45 is moved somewhatupwardly and toward the right and tilted with its lower extremityextending somewhat toward the right and substantially directly above thehoppers 45.

A stem 68 is carried by the guide 49 and is movable up and downrelatively thereto, being guided in such movement by the guide. The stemcarries near its lower end sheaves 61 and the guide carries at its upperend sheaves 62- coaxial with the pivot 50. Lines 63 are dead-ended tothe guide 49 at 64 and pass downwardly and about the sheaves 6i andthence upwardly through the guide and about the sheaves 62. The lines 63then pass about sheaves 71 carried by the pivot 31 and thence generallydownwardly and about sheaves 65 carried by the boom and thence aboutsheaves 66. From the sheaves 66 the lines 63 pass to and make severalturns about the stem hoisting drum 67 and thence extend about sheaves 68and 69 and about sheaves 78 carrying counterweights (not shown), thelines 63 being dead-ended to the carriage at 72. Thus when the drum 67is turned in the clockwise direction viewing Figure 7 the stem 60 israised in the guide 49 while when the drum 67 is turned in thecounterclockwise direction the stem 68 is allowed to move downwardly inthe guide 49 through the action of gravity.

The stem 68 carries at its lower end a bucket which may for example be aconventional clamshell bucket and which is designated generally byreference numeral 73. The bucket is adapted to be opened and closed inconventional manner by a line '74 passing about bucket dome sheaves 7Sand bucket crosshead sheaves 76, one end of the line extending about asheave 77 carried by the guide 49 and being dead-ended to the guide 49at 78. The other end of the line 74 passes about sheaves 79, 80, 81 and82 to a bucket closing drum 83 mounted in the carriage.

There is shown in Figure 1 an operators station 84 where the operatormay observe the unloading operation as it progresses and manipulatecontrols for moving the gantry along the deck, for moving the carriagein and out on the rails 7 mounted on the gantry, for raising andlowering the boom, for lengthening and shortening the adjustable links28, for operating the cranks 56 to move the guide 49, for raising andlowering the stern and for opening and closing bucket.

As above explained, the boom is positioned consonantly with the level ofthe material being unloaded and for each position of the boom theadjustable links 28 are adjusted so that when the stem 60 projects intothe hold as shown in Figure 1 it will be substantially vertical. Withthe cranks 56 in the position of Figure l and hence with the guide 49 inthe position of that figure, being positioned relatively outwardly anddownwardly and with its axis substantially vertical, the stem 60 islowered into the hold with the bucket 73 open. The bucket is closed tofill it with material whereupon the stem is raised to withdraw thebucket filled with material from the hold. As soon as the stem hasreached a sufficient height to allow the guide 49 to be swung upwardlyand inwardly without the stem or'bucket striking against any portion ofthe apparatus the cranks 56 are turned 180 and the guide 49 isswungupwardly and inwardly to position the closed bucket filled withmaterial above the hoppers 45. That position of the bucket is shown inFigure 2. With the bucket thuspositioned the bucket is opened and thematerial is discharged into the hoppers 45 whence it passes out to thefeeder conveyors 43, through the chutes 44 onto the conveyors 40,through the chute 10 onto the conveyor 11 and to the delivery zone. Thecranks 56 are then turned through 180 to the position shown in Figure 1,returning the guide 49 to the position of that figure whereupon the stem60 is again lowered for repetition of the cycle.

Figure 8 shows an unloader of modified structure in which partscorresponding to parts shown in Figure l are designated by the samereference numerals each with the letter a appended. The stem 60a ofFigure 8 is pivoted directly to the guide arm 32a at 50a. In Figure 8there is no guide corresponding to the guide 49 of Figure l and there isno drive arm corresponding to the drive arm 47 of Figure l. The guidearm 32a is moved about its horizontal pivot 31a by lines 84 eachdead-ended at 85 to a part of the support 16a and passing upwardly andabout sheaves 33a and thence downwardly and about a drum 86. Turning ofthe drum 86 in the counterclockwise direction winds up the lines 84 andturns the guide arm 32a in the clockwise direction about its pivot 31a.Turning of the drum 86 in the clockwise direction pays out the lines 84and allows the guide arm 32a to turn in the counterclockwise directionabout its pivot 31a due to gravity since the left-hand end of the guidearm 32a viewing Figure 8 and the parts carried thereby overbalance theright-hand end of the guide arm. Thus the drum 86 performs the functionof the cranks 56 of Figure 1. It moves the guide arm 32a between itslowermost position shown in chain lines in Figure 8 through itsintermediate position shown in solid lines and to its uppermost positionshown in .dash lines.

Means are provided for controllably changing the angularity between thestem 60a and the guide arm 320. Such means include a drum 87 and meansfor driving it carried by the guide arm 32a and a line 88. The line 88is dead-ended at 89 to the top of the stem 60a, takes severalturnsaround the drum 87 and thence passes about a guide pulley 90 and isdead-ended at 91 to the stem below the pivot 50a. When the drum 87 isnot rotating the line 88 maintains the stern 60a in fixed angularityrelatively to the guide arm 32a. en the drum 87 is turned in thecounterclockwise direction viewing Figure 8 it draws in the lower reachand pays out the upper reach of the line 88, drawing the bucket 73atoward the right and thus tilting the stern 60a. The opposite result isachieved by turning the drum 87 in the clockwise direction.

The unloader of Figure 8 is adapted for use when there is not a greatchange in the elevation of the material being unloaded during theunloading operation.

Figure 9 shows an unloader of the general character of the unloader ofFigure 8 but incorporating a guide and mounting the stern on the guidefor generally vertical movement relatively thereto. In Figure 9 partscorresponding to parts shown in Figures 1 and/ or 8 are designated bythe same reference numerals each with the letter b appended.

In Figure 9 the guide 4911 is pivoted directly to the guide arm 32b at58b. The guide arm 32]) is moved about its horizontal pivot 31b in thesame manner as the guide arm 32a of Figure 8 is moved as abovedescribed.

The stem 60b is carried by the guide 4% and is movableup and downrelatively thereto, being guided in such movement by the guide. The stemcarries near its lower end sheaves 61b and the guide carries at itsupper end sheaves 62b coaxial with the pivot 50b. Lines 63b aredead-ended to the guide 49b at 64b and pass downwardly and about thesheaves 61b and thence upwardly through the guide and about the sheaves62b. The lines 63b then pass about sheaves coaxial with the sheaves 33band about sheaves coaxial with the drum 86b to a drum, not shown, whichupon being turned in one direction raises the stem and upon being turnedin the opposite direction permits the stem to move downwardly bygravity.

I have not shown the bucket operating means in Figures 8 and 9 as theymay be similar to the bucket operating means of the structure of Figures1-7.

The support 16a of Figure 8 and the support 16b of Figure 9 may be astationary support or it may be a generally horizontally shiftablecarriage shiftable from right to left and vice versa viewing Figures 8and 9, or it may be a boom pivoted to such a carriage as in thestructure of Figures 1-7. In all of the structures shown in the drawingsthe unloaded material is deposited in hoppers carried by the samesupport which carries the stemcarried bucket.

While I have shown and described certain present preferred embodimentsof the invention it is to be distinctly understood that the invention isnot limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied within thescope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An unloader comprising a base, a generally horizontally oriented boomconnected with the base for movement of at least an end of the boom todiiferent elevations, said end of the boom projecting outwardly awayfrom the base and being free of undersupport so as to be adapted toextend over a ship, a material receiving hopper connected directly withthe boom at the outwardly projecting portion thereof so as to form ineffect a part of the boom, conveying means carried by the boom forconveying material from the hopper to a delivery point, a generallyvertically oriented stem, connections between the stem and the boomthrough which the stem is carried by the boom, means for shifting saidconnections to move the stem between an outward and downward positionand an inward and upward position generally above the hopper, materialhandling means carried by the stem at the lower portion thereof andmeans for operating the material handling means.

2. An unloader comprising a base, a generally horizontally oriented boomcarried by the base and connected therewith for movement of at least anend of the boom to different elevations, said end of the boom projectingoutwardly away from the base and being free of undersupport so as to beadapted to extend over a ship, a material receiving hopper connecteddirectly with the boom at the outwardly projecting portion thereof so asto form in effect a part of the boom, conveying means carried by theboom for conveying material from the hopper to a delivery point, agenerally vertically oriented stem, connections between the stem and theboom through which the stem is carried by the boom, means for shiftingsaid connections to move the stem between an outward and downwardposition and an inward and upward position generally above the hopper,material handling means carried by the stem at the lower portion thereofand means for operating the material handling means.

3. An unloader comprising a base, a generally horizontally oriented boompivoted to the base about a generally horizontal axis so that an end ofthe boom is movable to different elevations, a material receiving hopperconnected directly with the boom so as to form in efliect a part of theboom, conveying means carried by the boom for conveying material fromthe hopper to a delivery point, supporting means shiftably carried bythe boom, an arm pivoted to the supporting means, another arm pivoted tothe boom, a generally vertically oriented stem carried by said arms,means for shifting said arms to move the stem between an outward anddownward position and an inward and upward position generally above thehopper, material handling means carried by the stem at the lower portionthereof and means for operating the material handling means, thesupporting means being shiftable relatively to the boom to shift theposition of the pivotal connection therewith of the first mentioned armto maintain the stem in generally vertical orientation despite turningof the boom to different positions about its pivotal connection with thebase.

4. An unloader comprising a base, a generally horizontally oriented boomconnected with the base for movement of at least an end of the boom todifferent elevations, said end of the boom projecting outwardly awayfrom the base and being free of undersupport so as to be adapted toextend over a ship, a material receiving hopper connected directly withthe boom at the outwardly projecting portion thereof so as to form ineffect a part of the boom, conveying means carried by the boom forconveying material from the hopper to a delivery point, a generallyvertically oriented guide, connections between the guide and the boomthrough which the guide is carried by the boom, means for shifting saidconnections to move the guide between an outward and downward positionand an inward and upward position generally above the hopper, a stemmounted on the guide for generally vertical movement relatively to theguide, means for so moving the stem relatively to the guide, materialhandling means carried by the stem at the lower portion thereof andmeans for operating the material handling means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS606,720 Hulett July 5, 1898 652,313 Hulett June 26, 1900 677,718 TitcombJuly 2, 1901 1,007,762 Wright Nov. 7, 1911 1,281,379 Hudson Oct. 15,1918 1,547,533 Thomas July 28, 1925 1,929,004 Pugh Oct. 3, 19332,425,342 Palmer Aug. 12, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,264 Netherlands Dec. 7,1917 363,053 Germany Nov. 3, 1922 876,595 Germany May 15, 1953

